Scottish Executive

Dentistry

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that everyone in the Highlands and Islands has access to NHS dental services.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive recognises that there are increasing problems with access to NHS dental services in the Highlands and Islands and other parts of Scotland and has in place a number of measures aimed at improving access. Enhanced measures, e.g. allowances for vocational trainees and newly qualified dentists entering substantive general dental practice, are targeted at eight designated areas, including Highland and the Islands.

  We will continue to keep the need for incentives which attract and retain students and practicing dentists within the National Health Service under constant review.

Economy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with Scotland’s economic growth.

Mr Jim Wallace: It is a matter of great concern that economic growth in Scotland has consistently lagged the overall UK average over a number of years. This is why the Executive is committed to growing the economy by creating the conditions that will enable our sustainable growth to be maximised. Our medium- and long-term strategy for economic development, A Framework for Economic Development in Scotland, sets out the overarching framework and it is in this context that the Executive has allocated £538 million this year to the enterprise networks to progress the Smart Successful Scotland Enterprise Strategy. That is also why transport spending is projected to rise to £1.6 billion in 2005-06 and why we are rolling out a whole host of initiatives, such as our enterprise in education programme, that will contribute to improving our productivity, and thereby our growth, both now and in the medium and longer term.

Education

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications for state schools in Edinburgh are of 25% of secondary school pupils in Edinburgh attending private fee-paying schools subsidised by taxpayers.

Peter Peacock: The local authority, supported by funding from the Scottish Executive, provides sufficient schools to meet local demand for state education, regardless of the number of pupils attending private schools.

Environment

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Environment and Rural Affairs Department’s research organisation assessment exercise has been completed and when reports of its findings and conclusions will be published.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3149 on 30 October 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Financial Services

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in establishing a Financial Services Strategy Group.

Mr Jim Wallace: The first meeting of the Financial Services Strategy Group is now scheduled for 24 November 2003. I will chair the group, whose members are listed in the table:

  

 Name
 Title
 Organisation


 Bill Black
 Director Account 
  Management Operations
 The Royal Bank of 
  Scotland


 Sandy Boyle
 Deputy General Secretary
 Unifi


 John Campbell 
 Managing Director
 State Street Investment 
  Manager Solutions Europe Ltd


 Mary Campbell
 Director
 Blas Limited


 Paul Day
 Managing Director
 Morgan Stanley & 
  Company International Ltd


 Amanda Harvie
 Chief Executive
 Scottish Financial 
  Enterprise


 David Henderson
 Group Chief Executive
 Aegon UK


 Iain Lumsden
 Group Chief Executive
 Standard Life


 Jim McFarlane
 Chief Executive
 Scottish Enterprise 
  Edinburgh & Lothian


 George Mitchell
 Governor
 Bank of Scotland


 John Quigley
 Scottish Regional 
  Secretary
 Amicus


 Susan Rice
 Chief Executive 
 Lloyds TSB Scotland 
  Plc


 Patrick Snowball
 Group Executive Director, 
  General Insurance
 Aviva Plc


 Ben Thomson
 Chief Executive
 Noble Group Ltd


 David Thorburn
 Chief Operating Officer
 Clydesdale Bank Plc


 David Wallace
 Director of Operations
 Abbey


 Willie Watt
 Chief Executive
 Martin Currie Investment 
  Management Ltd


 Mark Wood
 Chief Executive 
 Prudential Assurance 
  UK & Europe


 Peter Wood
 Chairman
 esure

Health

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-474 by Mr Tom McCabe on 25 September 2003, what the status of the draft guidance is; what timescale is indicated by "shortly"; whether the comments received will be published and, if so, when, and what the definitions are of "informed" and "included" as used in the answer.

Mr Tom McCabe: Guidance on Consultation and Public Involvement in Service Change (Bib. number 21063) has been operational since May 2002. This gives clarity on how those affected by a proposed change should be informed and included in the consultation process. The Scottish Consumer Council and Scottish Health Feedback have published a report which sets out comments and reactions to the guidance. A copy of this is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29763). We expect the next version of the guidance to issue in the near future.

Learning Disabilities

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to enable people with learning disabilities to influence the development and implementation of policy.

Mr Tom McCabe: People with learning disabilities are directly involved in the development and implementation of policy at local and national level. Half of the board members of the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability are people with learning disabilities or family carers. The same as you? National Implementation Group has four people with learning disability as members. Our users and carers reference group that helped shape learning disability policy in Scotland continues to meet to advise on implementation. A third of the members are people with learning disabilities.

  People with learning disabilities are involved in the recruitment of local area co-ordinators and in the work of NHS Education for Scotland in training for nurses. The Mental Welfare Commission has also recently advertised for a person with a learning disability to be employed as a part-time commissioner.

NHS Funding

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of NHS funding allocated using the Arbuthnott formula was allocated to each NHS board area for the current year and will be allocated for the next three years, expressed also on a per capita basis, and whether these percentages are likely to change as a result of any review of the Arbuthnott formula and, if so, in what way.

Malcolm Chisholm: Details of Arbuthnott target percentages used to allocate NHS funding and per capita funding for 2003-04 are as follows:

 NHS Board  2003-04 Arbuthnott Formula Target %  2003-04 Per Capita %Argyll and Clyde  8.663  8.284Ayrshire and Arran  7.775  7.262Borders  2.214  2.125Dumfries and Galloway  3.197  2.914Fife  6.665  6.936Forth Valley  5.298  5.527Grampian  9.060  10.352Greater Glasgow  18.685  17.134Highland  4.545  4.118Lanarkshire  10.626  10.938Lothian  13.597  15.413Orkney  0.417  0.380Shetland  0.449  0.434Tayside  8.020  7.664Western Isles  0.790  0.518  

  Indicative allocations for 2004-05 and 2005-06 have been calculated on the basis of 2003-04 Arbuthnott target percentages. No indicative allocations have yet been made for 2006-07.

  The Arbuthnott target percentages for future years will increase or decrease due to annual updating of the formula to take account of population movements and further updating of the formula. Firm allocations for 2004-05 and 2005-06 will be calculated on the basis of the updated target percentages.

NHS Waiting Times

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times have been from GP referral to first appointment with a consultant psychiatrist for each NHS board area in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: The median waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in the speciality of psychiatry, following referral by a general medical practitioner, in the years ended 30 June 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, by NHS board area of residence, are given in the following table.

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for a First Outpatient Appointment with a Consultant in the Specialty of Psychiatry, Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS Board of Residence. Years Ended 30 June 1999, 30 June 2000, 30 June 2001, 30 June 2002 and 30 June 2003P